So my old camera is a Canon Power Shot A720 IS and I have been able to get some very nice clear pictures with it. I bought a new camera , a Nikon Coolpix L810 because it has a telephoto lens and the sales clerk convinced me how much better pictures a newer camera would take than my old camera. Unfortunately I found this not to be true for me. I am getting very blurry pictures. I think that the problem is that I am not keeping the camera steady and the shaking is producing blurry pictures. The weight of the telephoto lens causes the camera to move when I click the button to take a picture and hence a blurry picture. I guess that this camera is not for me and I should use my old camera.

What advice would you offer for me ?p.s. I am not blaming the camera, it has great magnification at distances but I can't take clear pictures with it because I can't keep it steady.

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you need a higher shutter speed to stop the images becoming blurry. The general rule is 1 / (focal length 35mm equivalent). As the Nikon Coolpix L810 has a maximum focal length of 585mm as the 35mm equivalent your shutter speed should be at least 1/640th of a second.

I don't know if you have any manual controls on the camera. One way to get a higher shutter speed is by putting the camera into a higher ISO.

Another way to get sharper images is by stabilising your camera. At these focal lengths it's very difficult to keep the camera still. You can stabilise the camera by putting it on a wall, a table, ... Anything that keeps the camera still. You might want to consider using a tripod when you use the maximum focal length.

See if you can increase the shutter speed or stabilise the camera and if it resolves the problem with the blurry photos.

Do you think that maybe for me it might be better to go back to using my old camera , the Canon Power Shot A 720 IS ?

cujo wrote:

Hi Peter,

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you need a higher shutter speed to stop the images becoming blurry. The general rule is 1 / (focal length 35mm equivalent). As the Nikon Coolpix L810 has a maximum focal length of 585mm as the 35mm equivalent your shutter speed should be at least 1/640th of a second.

I don't know if you have any manual controls on the camera. One way to get a higher shutter speed is by putting the camera into a higher ISO.

Another way to get sharper images is by stabilising your camera. At these focal lengths it's very difficult to keep the camera still. You can stabilise the camera by putting it on a wall, a table, ... Anything that keeps the camera still. You might want to consider using a tripod when you use the maximum focal length.

See if you can increase the shutter speed or stabilise the camera and if it resolves the problem with the blurry photos.

The Canon Powershot a720 has less zoom range. With an equivalent 35mm focal length of 210mm you should get sharp photos with a much slower shutter speed. Inistead of 1/640th of a second you would need 1/250th only.

It's up to you which camera is the best for you. If you need to longer zoom range, I'd look at getting used to the new Nikon Coolpix L810. It always takes a bit of time to get used to a new camera. Whichever camera you choose to use, make sure you have fun when you take the photos.